Category: Theatre

“Part of a worldwide campaign and celebration of culture by, for and with the whole community,” Lincoln Fun Palace Weekend is taking place in and around the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC) on Saturday, October 1st and Sunday, October 2nd.

The “free, community event with arts and science activities” is “ideal for families, children and young people” and there’s certainly a wide range of activities on offer.

Taking place from September 21st to 25th, Gravity Fields is a festival celebrating Sir Isaac Newton and it has entertainment in spades – “for big kids and little”.

South Kesteven Council’s Stephanie Foster picks the highlights of the festival’s offerings for mini scientists, “This five-day festival has more than 120 events, including a brilliant Bubbles and Balloons show for four-year-olds upwards from those clever people at Science Made Simple. They have two separate shows with giant bubbles and whizzing balloons on Saturday, first in the morning at Stamford Arts Centre and then a 3pm event in Grantham Guildhall.

“If your kids have never seen a hedgehog or an owl up close, Gravity Fields can thrill them thanks to naturalist Sasha Norris in her Living With Wildlife show on Saturday morning.

“There is enchanting storytelling in the Family Science Day from Mara Menzies on the tale of Isaac Newton and the apple, part of a brilliant hands-on day of discovery for families with demos and table-top activities and cool tech.

“Light, technology and dance combine in another thrilling show for people big and small alike in Body of Light (For Little Ones!). There are several shows on Friday and Saturday.”

With all this and much more – including a show called Dr Death and the Medi-Evil Medicine Show which would be a must see for us if our minis were less mini (it’s for age 7+) – there’s sure to be something to appeal to any little (or big) Newtons, Einsteins or Curies in your house.

Toddler’s Room by Norwegian company Dybwikdans is specifically for children aged 0-3 and required one adult per child so one of Willow’s godmothers joined us for the morning.

A white dome tent was pitched in the auditorium and provided a transportive and intimate space as well as a neutral backdrop making the rich purple, orange, red and gold colours used in the performance appear all the bolder.

Children were allowed to explore the space during most of the 20 minute show – and who doesn’t love chasing a balloon? – as the dancer moved, used chimes complementing the music and interacted with sculptural objects and her mini audience members.

The whirling cloak that sent the big red balloons spinning around the dome was a particular highlight.

A beautiful and magical sensory experience, it was as delightful to watch the faces of the little ones watching as it was the performance itself.

That, of course, isn’t quite the whole story.

Any other fellow 10am ticket holder may well have noticed a certain someone volubly deciding he didn’t want to go in. A little bit tired and emotional from a bad bout of hay fever at the moment he then, of course, got really upset that he hadn’t gone in.

A big thank you to the very understanding Lincoln Drill Hall staff who let us take up a spare space for the next performance. Which, of course, he loved – tents, balloons, music and dance all high on his list of favourite things. He liked it so much in fact, he then didn’t want to leave and spent a long time saying goodbye and thank you to the production team.

When Anna Williams and Tom Roden greeted their Lincoln Drill Hall audience with the first question this afternoon at the start of The Doodle Dance Show and invited everyone to wave their toes at each other you could tell you were in for a playful time.

Leading us through an imaginative narrative intertwined with dance and drawing, we all had our own chance to add to the pictures and move in line with the story as the tale of accidental exploration and homecoming unfolded.

An auditorium full of paper clearly wasn’t a big enough canvas for Willow who enjoyed drawing on herself too

The excitement of the whirling pirate dancing quickly prompted an “again, again” from Luke, they both really enjoyed being drawn around and Willow’s magical smile of wonderment and Luke’s delighted laugh at the snow falling at the close of the show proved how engaged by the performance they were.

Interactive dance theatre definitely seems to be where my love of children’s theatre and Luke’s need to do and move rather than just watch combines and The Doodle Dance Show provided us with a lovely afternoon of imaginative adventure, joy of movement and family fun.